Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

Photograph of Polish Navy submarine ORP Dzik crew members in Port Said, February 1944.

Tail gunner Lawrence Benner, on a Lancaster bomber, Royal Canadian Air Force, RAF Bomber Command, 1943.

Russian soldiers prepare chlorine gas for use against Austrians. 1916

Sailors of ORP Sokół loading a torpedo to their submarine, May 1941
The new submarine ORP Sokół was transferred to the Polish Naval Command to replace ORP Orzeł, which was lost in the North Sea on 1940.

United States (Union) general Joseph Warren Revere in 1860

Coloration by Avital Sthapura from Wikimedia Commons (unchanged). This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

A battle-hardened German soldier in Stalingrad, 27 November 1942

Original photograph by Friedrich Gehrmann, colorisation by Julius Jääskeläinen from Wikimedia Commons (unchanged). This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany licence.

Kumbhirgram, Assam, India. 7 January 1945. An operational pup called 'Basher', a dog who has flown in a Mosquito aircraft of No. 82 Squadron RAF on operations against the Japanese in Burma. He is with his master, Flight Lieutenant A. G. McKenzie, RAAF, of Norseman, WA (centre), and 'his' navigator, Flying Officer Alf Newman, RAF of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.


(Photo source - AWM SEA0091)

Japanese archers, circa 1860.

I believe this is from the Chinese "Boxer Rebellion" ca. 1900.

NebrHogger said:

I believe this is from the Chinese "Boxer Rebellion" ca. 1900.
View attachment 418577

Click to expand...

Soldiers and marines of the international relief force after rescuing their besieged delegations at Tientsin (Tianjin) and before marching to Beijing (1900).
Left to right: British, American, Russian, Indian, German, French Foreign Legionnaire, Austrian, Italian, and Japanese.

A post in the trenches held by Dogras, and an Indian Cavalry machine gun section near Fauquissart, France.
58th Rifles War Dairy - Rue De Tilleloy - 9 August 1915


"The A.C. Comdr. visited the front line at 11.00am, accompanied by the Divisional and Brigade Comdrs. A cinematagraph camera accompanied them as far as Fauquissart Post, and took what must have been some very interesting pictures of parts of the Subsection"
58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force). In 1914, the regiment's class composition was three companies each of Pathans and Sikhs, and one company each of Dogras and Punjabi Muslims.
During the First World War, the regiment served on the Western Front in 1914–15, fighting in the Battles of Givenchy-les-la-Bassee, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge and Loos.
In 1915, it served in Egypt moving to Palestine in 1917, where it fought in the Third Battle of Gaza, the Battle of Nebi Samwil and the Capture of Jerusalem.
In 1918, it fought in the Battle of Megiddo, which led to the annihilation of Turkish Army in Palestine.
Reference: Photo 24/(291)
From the H.D. Girdwood Collection held by the British Library.
Colourised by Doug

Canadian A/Capt. Christopher Patrick John O'Kelly, VC., MC. (Aged 21) 12 January 1918.
One reporter who interviewed him later wrote, "He was very young. His manner was quiet and somewhat grim, as if he had looked too closely ...... at death."


Christopher Patrick John O’Kelly was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the 18th of November 1895.
He joined the 144th Bn at Winnipeg on February the 26th 1916 prior to being transferred to the. 52nd Bn., 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division.
While serving with the 52nd Infantry Battalion, Lt. O’Kelly received the Military Cross for actions at Vimy Ridge in April 1917. (Awarded 26th September 1917)
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in leading his platoon through heavy wire against the enemy trenches. Having reached and captured his objective, he led a bombing party against a hostile machine gun which was firing on his flank. He bombed the crew and captured the gun, by his gallant conduct and fine leadership saving his company many casualties and setting a fine example to all ranks"
On the 26th of October 1917, Acting Captain O’Kelly led his company of the 52nd Bn. against German positions on Bellevue Spur, a network of defences near Passchendaele in Belgium. Previously, other units had tried to attack this feature, but had been unsuccessful while suffering considerable losses. O’Kelly and his men advanced about one kilometre into the enemy positions, and captured six “pillbox” fortifications, ten machine guns and 100 prisoners. They then dug in and held their position against repeated German counterattacks until they were relieved. Later that day, O’Kelly and his company fought off another strong enemy counterattack, taking more prisoners in the process. Alert to German activity that night, they captured a raiding party of 11 soldiers. For his exemplary leadership throughout that day, Acting Captain O’Kelly was awarded the Victoria Cross. (Awarded 11th January 1918)
Subsequently he was promoted to Captain.
He later achieved the rank of Major and was wounded at Cambrai on the 28th of September 1918.
After the war, O'Kelly became a prospector in Northwestern Ontario.
On the 15th of November 1922, he and a colleague died, presumed drowned whilst prospecting on Lac Seul, near Kenora in Ontario. His body was never found.
(Photo from the National Archives of Canada Nº O-2369)
Colourised by Doug

US Army Captain Winters


Richard Davis Winters (January 21, 1918 – January 2, 2011) was an American businessman and decorated war veteran who served as a U.S. Army officer during World War II. He is best known for having commanded Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division. He was eventually promoted to major and put in command of the 2nd Battalion.

As a first lieutenant, Winters parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later fought across France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and eventually Germany. After the German surrender in May 1945, he left the 506th and was stationed in France, where senior officers were needed to oversee the return home. In 1951, during the Korean War, Winters was recalled to the Army from the inactive list and briefly served as a regimental planning and training officer on staff at Fort Dix, New Jersey. After volunteering and completing training to become a Ranger, Winters was issued orders for deployment and was preparing to depart for Korea, but instead left the Army under a provision that allowed officers who had served in World War II but had been inactive since to resign their commission.

The top guns of the 357th Fighter Group, Maj. Richard A. Peterson (from left), Maj. Leonard “Kit” Carson, Maj. John England and Maj. Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson.

The four aces are credited with 67 victories during the war.

Gen. James Longstreet, born Jan. 8, 1821.

No. 23 Squadron pilots (left to right) Squadron Leader J.J. de Willimoff, DFC (later Wing Commander, MBE, DFC, AE), Flight Lieutenant A.M. Davis, DFC, and Flight Sergeant Walls in front of a F4U Corsair on Emirau, March-May 1945.


Both de Willimoff and Davis had scored victories while flying P-40s with No. 15 Squadron earlier in the war, de Willimoff claiming an A6M and a D3A with Davis downing an A6M and two D3As.
This photo shows some of the variety in flying gear worn by RNZAF aircrew in the Pacific with it being a mix of NZ, UK and US manufacture and de Willimoff's oxygen mask being Canadian made. He is also wearing a USN nylon flight suit which was not very popular with aircrew because, despite being lightweight, it was hot due to it not able to 'breath'.
Interestingly the Corsair seems to have been partially repainted, with the upper surfaces from the cockpit forward (as well as the lower outer starboard wing surface) being repainted while the rest of the aircraft is wearing its faded original three-tone factory scheme.
Photo source: Air Force Museum of New Zealand, file PR5507.

Battleship USS Iowa (BB-4) in 1918. Commissioned 16 June 1897, decomissioned 31 March 1919. Sunk as a target ship 23 March 1923.

WW2 - Two Fallschirmjäger in action, date and location unknown.


The Germans carried out airborne operations on a large scale only twice in World War II; once in May 1940 in Holland, and again in May 1941 in connection with the occupation of Crete. Accordingly, German experiences are based in the main upon these two operations which took place during the first years of the war and which constituted the first large-scale airborne operations in the history of warfare. Airborne operations on a smaller scale were carried out against the Greek island of Leros in 1943 and during the Ardennes offensive in 1944.

There was also this... The SS 500th Paratroop Div. was led by Hauptsturmführer Kurt Rybka during its daring but unsuccessful parachute and glider-borne assault on Tito's headquarters outside Drvar on 25 May 1944. The raid was called Operation Rösselsprung (Knight's move). Two companies were dropped directly on Tito's supposed headquarters location while the other two were landed by DFS 230 glider.

Officers of the Polish Navy destroyer ORP Piorun during a convoy WS-11X with supplies for Malta, 1941



Commander Eugeniusz Pławski (46 years old) the CO of the ship standing in the middle.